Nuclear fusion startup, Fuse, is trying to make a mass production version nuclear fusion system based upon the Sandia Z Machine. This is magnetized target fusion using Marx generators. They leverage the Z pinch for their pulsed power approach.
They are making a 1-Terawatt TITAN machine and plan to build Z STAR which aims to produce 100 trillion neutrons per shot. Nuclear Startup Fuse is valued at over $200 Million in new September 2024 funding. They raised $32 million in the last round.
Investors in the startup’s latest round include Buckley Ventures, Tamarack Global, Bracket Capital, and individuals including former NNSA administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty and former Lockheed Martin Asia chief executive Doug Greenlaw. They will double its headcount to more than 60 people over the next year.
Power delivered in 100 nanoseconds is more than all the power emitted by Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, and Dubai in an entire day. They harness this energy and fire it in a “shot” at an object to test how that object reacts under extreme conditions.
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In my humble opinion, the main conceptual catch in all envisioned inertia-confined fusion devices is that they are to small. Stellar source demands stellar dimensions (sort of), but all conceptual project take 1GW as a parameter even if present fission reactors produce up to 1700MW each. Up to, say, 10GW would be possibly more to the point. If ignition is the most problematic part, then put single match on a large stack.
This is great for research and for moving the needle, but how far are we from a direct capture system, rather than turning a turbine for electricity generation? If such a reactor could produce that much energy, could it be stored for gradual use or would a lot of it be lost before it could be converted into electricity for everyday use?
Direct capture requires a majority charged particle (aneutronic) product rather than a majority neutron product fusion reaction.